The Talent Code: Greatness Isn't Born. It's Grown. Here's How. Hardcover – April 28, 2009

This brilliantly written book is one of the most impactful I have read this year. Author Daniel Coyle has done an outstanding job of taking research into myelin, a substance that insulates nerve cells, and turning that scientific breakthrough knowledge into a prescription for achieving greatness in a variety of fields, from music to athletics to business.Using powerful case studies, Coyle has identified three distinct key elements that determine how individuals achieve greatness: Deep Practice, Ignition, and Master Coaching.Deep Practice involves short burst of energy - perfecting, identifying errors, repeating. Each time an individual - violinist, tennis player, soccer player - engages in this kind of Deep Practice, the nervous system generates new layers of myelin to further insulate and streamline the flow of electrical energy within neural synapses.In order for an individual to have the motivation, persistence, and determination to engage in this level of Deep Practice, there needs to have been an Ignition event. In the case of Korean women who now dominate the LPGA, the igniting event was Se Ri Pak winning the McDonald's LPGA Championship in 1998, and becoming a visible symbol and role model for young Korean girls. Five years later - enough time for Deep Practice to have made a significant difference - Korean women began to dominate women's golf.The third key element is Master Coaching.. Mr. Coyle calls these master teachers "The Talent Whisperers." Common traits are patience, nurturing spirit and the ability to use years of observation and pattern recognition to know just the right word to say to encourage and motivate the person being coached. IConic UCLA coach John Wooden is cited as a prototype for this kind of Master Coach.The implications of these three key elements that lead to greatness are far reaching. They can be applied to the realm of parenting, teaching, coaching, and business leadership. This is a MUST READ book for anyone who aspires to greatness or to lead others in achieving greatness.

There's been a lot written on this subject over the past few years and I've read much of it including:Outliers, Talent is Overrated, The Talent Code, and Open. Yes, I would include Open, the auto-biography of Andre Agassi, to be a contribution to this theme. I'll explain why at the end.Of these books, I think that the Talent Code is the most actionable for people who are looking to build skill and expertise for themselves, their kids, or their employees.The book talks at length about how skill is built through mindful practice that develops myelin, a sort of neuron insulator. The key principles are that as we practice we strengthen certain neural pathways with myelin. To be exceptional at something is to have built up more myelin connections than average people.The way we do that is through about 10,000 hours of mindful practice.You'll certainly need a lot of drive to put in that amount of practice, and the book talks about what types of environments and cultures help contribute to that drive and even suggests how such a culture can be developed.And it helps to have a great coach.The book has lots of stories about mindful practice, hotbeds of talent, and great coaches. From these stories it draws principles that we can apply as individuals.Outliers is a wonderful book and does a better job of illustrating the role that luck and cirumstances have to do with success. The Talent Code does a better job of helping you really understand what you can do as an individual to develop talent.Open is a great auto-biography, and you'll get a first-hand look of one man's journey to becoming the best in the world at his chosen profession. It absolutely supports the theories in The Talent Code that says it is the thousands of hours of hard work, not god-given talent, that makes someone outstanding. It also shows the true cost of that type of commitment and practice and makes you ask the question if you're really up to the challenge or truly desire to be the best in the world at a competitive undertaking.